Atlanta gets first two Siemens S70 streetcars

The first Siemens S70 streetcar destined to ply the streets of downtown Atlanta arrived in Georgia's capital city Monday, Feb. 17, 2014, while a second car was slated to arrive on the property Tuesday.

Two more S70 cars are scheduled to be delivered in March, completing the city's four-car order.

"This is the beginning of a new era in Atlanta's transportation history," \Atlanta City Councilmember Kwanza Hall told local media on Monday. "What we're trying to do is begin to build transportation around a new mode of getting people around."

Atlanta hopes to begin revenue service on the 2.7-mile transit loop sometime this year, though the specific opening day has fluctuated.

The route will offer direct access to MARTA's Peachtree Center station, and also serve Centennial Olympic Park, the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia World Congress Center, the new College Football Hall of Fame, the future National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic site.

Siemens S70 streetcar gear made its operational debut last December in South Salt Lake on Utah Transit Authority's Sugar House streetcar route.